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Do you know what the longest-running television show is?  The Simpsons?  Nope.  It will start its 21st season this fall, but it’s not the longest.  60 Minutes, perhaps?  Good guess; 60 Minutes will start it’s 42nd season this fall.  But you’re still not correct.  The longest running broadcast program of any kind is Guiding Light.  It has been broadcast on television for 57 years, and prior to its broadcast on television, it was a radio program, which debuted in 1937.  That’s 72 years of broadcast.  Sadly, due to low ratings, Guiding Light is coming to an end.  Its last program aired yesterday.

I started watching Guiding Light when I was in high school.  I think there were two main reasons why I started watching it in the first place: one, it came on at 3 pm, which is when I would get home from school, and two, because my older sister watched it, and she got my other sisters and me into it.  We would all watch it together, and we’d talk about the plots and characters, and we would speculate on what was going to happen.  It was fun, it was something we shared together.  Over the summers, my sisters watched other soaps, as well.  They seemed loyal to the CBS lineup: The Young and the Restless,  As the World Turns, and Guiding Light.  I watched As the World Turns sometimes, but I never really got into it.  Guiding Light was the only soap I really followed and knew the characters.

In some ways, I am part of the reason why GL is going away; I used to watch the show when I was in high school and to some extent in college, but as my life moved on and I started working, I left Guiding Light behind.   I’d catch it sometimes, on holidays or if I had a day off.  It was nice to check in every once in a while, to see what my old friends were up to in Springfield.  I haven’t watched it in a while, though.  And now, I won’t be able to catch the show any more.

I’m recording this last week on my TiVo, and I’ve been watching at night.  It takes me back.  A lot of the same characters are still there, saying their goodbyes.  I guess I have to say my goodbyes too.  Farewell, Guiding Light, and thanks for being there in my high school years, when I needed you the most.

My surgery recovery has gone as well as can be expected.  I’ve been home for the past five weeks, healing.  On Tuesday I’ll be returning to work.  I’m ready to go back but there’s a part of me that enjoys these work-free times.  I enjoy things like the luxury of grocery shopping during the week, when the store isn’t a madhouse.  I enjoy shopping at the local farmer’s market, that inconveniently takes place on Wednesday afternoons (whose idea was that?) I know this was supposed to be time for me to recover from surgery, but I have also tried to take the opportunity to get a few projects done that needed doing.  Neil and I have done a lot; we replaced a screen, we’re waterproofing the deck, and we’ve gotten rid of some old junk.  We cleaned the garage.  It’s been good.  But there’s always more to do, and more that I’ll want to get done.  I always feel a bit bothered that I haven’t accomplished more during my time off.

Oh well.  To hell with that.  Back to work.